55 Shades of Crazy
by Alice Brennan
Summary: A witch raised in captivity returns to Hogwarts to avenge her mother.
1. Wild Watermelon

**A/N: Written for the Crayola Color Challenge**

 **Prompt 1: Wild Watermelon**

It was strange. After the rain, the scent of wild watermelon hung in the air. Aria would have recognized it anywhere.

She had been terrified of storms as a child. Every time lightning began to crack, thunder rumbling in the distance, Aria's mother, Astrid, would pull out coloring books, crayons of every color Aria could imagine, and candles that Astrid said smelled of wild watermelons.

"Mother nature is an artist," Astrid would whisper as they gathered their art supplies and lit the candles on the old wooden floor, "So are we. We create and destroy and recreate. Just like her. Remember, Aria, she's not the enemy."

"Who is the enemy?" Aria would ask as Astrid offered her what she knew was her favorite color, a bright shade of pink. Astrid had once said it reminded her of sunrise. Aria had never seen a sunrise, but she thought it must be beautiful.

Aria's mother would look back at the door that was always locked and Aria would wonder for the hundredth time what was on the other side of it. It never opened. Once a week, a panel would be slid open at the bottom of the door, and supplies would be delivered to them. When that happened, Astrid would take the bags and hand off a list of things they wanted to have delivered the next week. Once the panel was closed, it didn't open again until the next delivery. Their home consisted of a small kitchen, a bathroom, one bedroom, and one living room. It had always been fully furnished and stocked, as long as Astrid didn't forget to add anything to the list. No noises came from the other side of the door. The only sounds that came from outside of their home were the storms. At the time, that was the only life Aria had ever known. She was born in that bedroom. She'd eaten every meal for 11 years in that living room. The windowless walls had been covered with pictures she and Astrid had made over the years.

"The enemy," Astrid would answer after a long silence, "are those who fear us. You must never allow your fear to control you, Aria, and never forget who the true enemy is."

Aria reached into her pocket and curled her fingers around a thin piece of paper. She pushed her dark hair back out of her violet eyes and stared up at the castle as she let her mind revisit the past. That piece of paper was the last piece of art Astrid had created before the explosion had taken her away from Aria forever. It was all she had left of her mother.

Aria had never forgotten. She would never forget. The scent of wild watermelon hanging on the air lit up those memories like candles flaring to life. It was Astrid's spirit guiding her forward. The castle in front of her was a stark contract compared to the colorful home they had created together.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor Black," McGonagall smiled at her, obviously mistaking her hesitance for awe.

Aria forced a smile. "When do I get to meet the Headmaster?"


	2. Neon Carrot

**Prompt 2: Neon Carrot**

"Bippity-boppity-boop!" Aria flinched as Dumbledore's voice boomed across the great hall. The words were all nonsense, and the smile stretching across his face said he knew it, despite the horrified looks on the faces of some of the first years. His little prank was begrudgingly amusing. Aria rolled her eyes as he continued. "Now that I have your attention, I have a few announcements to make. Let us give a warm welcome to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Black."

Aria was greeted with a few half-hearted claps scattered across the hall, but she wouldn't necessarily call it warm. The professor seated next to her, a man with a hooked nose and dark shoulder length hair, was glaring daggers at her as though she had personally offended him simply by sitting next to him.

"Secondly, the Forbidden Forest is still strictly forbidden. Thirdly," Dumbledore waved his hand towards the table and a feast magically appeared before them. "let the feast begin."

Thunder rumbled from the enchanted ceiling, making Aria tense up. Dumbledore sat down in his seat and leaned across Professor McGonagall to whisper, "Are you, by any chance, related to the House of Black from London?"

Aria forced a small smile, "I'm afraid not, Headmaster. My family has always lived in France. I myself attended Beauxbatons: Academy of Magic."

Dumbledore frowned, as though he didn't quite believe her. With a nod, he turned back to his plate and began piling up an excessive amount of food for himself, making Aria cringe. He ate this way, with more food than he could possibly consume, while she and her mother had always been forced to portion theirs out to make it last until the next delivery.

"You studied Defense Against the Dark Arts at Beauxbatons?" The dark-haired professor asked doubtfully.

"I also apprenticed with the Scamander family." Aria answered confidently, "I have both educational experience and field experience."

"You'll find field experience will do you little good in a classroom full of first years, Professor Black." He quipped, turning back to his own plate.

Aria ate in silence, carefully observing her surroundings and listening in to the conversations between the other Professors. It was clear that they were all familiar with each other. Aria could only assume they had all worked with each other for several years. She was the odd one out. She was accustomed to it, but it might make her objective more difficult to achieve.

Once everyone was finished eating, Dumbledore leaned towards her again, this time eyeing the dark-haired professor. "Severus will show you to your rooms. Your classes begin at nine in the morning."

"Wonderful," Aria smiled at him, as Severus stood up from his seat.

"Shall we? I don't have all night." Severus snipped. His tone was politer than his words, but they were edged with impatience. Aria didn't hesitate to stand up and follow him out of the great hall. She followed him in silence, taking advantage of the opportunity to see more of the castle on her way. She didn't doubt that people easily got lost in here, and she was determined not to be one of them. Directions had never been one of her strengths, but she worked hard at making sure it wasn't one of her weaknesses either.

"These are your chambers. I trust you can find your own way to your classroom tomorrow?" Severus asked, studying her. Aria got the feeling that he didn't trust her. That was wise of him.

"I will be fine, but thank you for your concern." She answered simply.

Severus narrowed his eyes at her, but slipped past her and strode off down the corridor without another word. Aria sighed. It was wise of him not to trust her, but it would be easier for her if he did. Aria slipped into her rooms and began warding them.

By the time her first class began, Aria had decided to take a practical approach to teaching. She wasn't certain if it was because she wanted to prove Severus wrong regarding her field work being useless for teaching first years, or if she was simply curious as to what the students could do with it. Perhaps, if she could find favor with the students, she could use them to further her own goals as well. However, it wasn't long before she began to regret her choice. The students were attempting to learn to cast a simple defensive spell, Tarantallegra. It was meant to test them and to amuse her, more than anything else, but none of them seemed to be capable of casting it correctly.

Her gaze travelled calmly across the room. The students had partnered up for this lesson and were attempting to make each other dance. Some of the spells were causing the partners to stumble, but that was as close as any of them had gotten. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of one student, a whiney boy with hair the color of dirt, getting frustrated. He began shaking his wand as though the wand itself was at fault for his inaptitude. He was going to hurt someone.

"Mr. Neon!" She called out, stepping out into the crowd of students to stop him. Before she could get his attention, his wand exploded into a cloud of dust the color of a neon carrot. Children began coughing and stumbling back away from him in an attempt to avoid the dust. Aria waved her wand to clear it, and it slowly began to fade. Mr. Neon's face, on the other hand, did not. His entire body was stained bright orange.


	3. Wild Blue Yonder

**Wild Blue Yonder**

 **A/N: Written for Dragon MoonX's Crayola Color Challenge. Prompt: Wild Blue Yonder**

Aria peered into the forest as far as trees would allow her. She wondered why, exactly it was forbidden. There had to be a reason. Maybe children that stepped into the forest were immediately eaten by giant trolls. Aria smirks.

"I wouldn' go in there by yerself if I were you." Hagrid said, making her jump out of her skin. She'd thought she was alone out here. It was her first break from the students and she had needed some fresh air.

"I can handle myself." She retorted.

"O' course you can." Hagrid said, his cheeks reddening. "What are you doin' out here by yerself?" He didn't have much practice talking to women who weren't practically as old as Dumbledore.

"I just wanted to see more of the castle while I had the time." Aria answered, looking back towards the forest.

Hagrid's smile widdened. "Well, this isn't the part of the castle you want to be seein'. Would you like to see Hogwart's true treasure?"

Aria forced a smile. Hogwart's real treasure was going to be Dumbledore's head on a spike before too long.

"Miss Aria?" Hagrid frowned, pulling her attention back to him.

"Yes, I'd love to see it." she answered quickly.

"Come with me." Hagrid led her around to the back of the castle. Aria had to practically run to keep up with him and Hagrid kept looking around to make sure they weren't being followed.

He paused at the entrance of a greenhouse hidden behind Hogwarts, far away from he greenhouses the students used. "Now, you can't tell anyone this is here. Dumbledore would have my head."

"I won't tell a soul." Aria promised, curious as to what Dumbledore would want kept so secret.

Hagrid opened the door to the greenhouse, motioning for her to peek inside.

Aria gasped. There were rows and rows of what looked like blue wildflowers. The flowers looked so innocent that if Aria hadn't known better, she would have thought Hagrid had been messing with her. She did know better though. She'd never seen wild blue yonders in person before, but she'd read about them. They were extremely poisonous when consumed, and Hogwarts was handing her an enormous stash of them as though the castle itself wanted Dumbledore dead, too.

"Only a select few students are allowed to use them under Professor Snape or Professor Sprout's supervision." Hagrid explained. "Aren't they beau'iful?"

"As beautiful as they are deadly." Aria smiled.


	4. Inchworm

**Inchworm**

 **A/N: Written for Dragon MoonX's Crayola Color Challenge Prompt: Inchworm**

Aria stood over her cauldron, letting the heat warm her chilled skin. She couldn't help but laugh as she mixed the wild blue yonders with the chocolate and cream. It smelled simply delectable. Just like her, it would be beautiful on the outside, but disastrous on the inside. It was almost as though she were sentencing Dumbledore to the same pain he had caused her. The wild blue yonders would just make him sick to his stomach at first, but then the flowers would show their true colors. If not treated in time, Dumbledore would melt from the inside out. Aria's skin crawled just thinking about it. She would have to thank Hagrid later for showing her the hidden greenhouse.

Once the wild blue yonders had melded with the chocolate, Aria carefully molded them into tiny brownies, sat them on a plate to cool, and summoned a house elf.

"Are you listening?" She asked the house elf. "This is very important."

"Yes mistress," the house elf answered obediently.

"At dinner, once dessert is served, this plate of brownies must be placed specifically in front of Dumbledore. I worked very hard to make them especially for him. It's important to me that they make it to him."

"Winky understands. Mistress is very sweet to make the headmaster some special treats. Winky will make sure to get them to him."

The house elf vanished with the plate of brownies.

Aria waved her wand over the cauldron, cleaning up after herself before leaving her rooms. She was a few minutes late to her class and decided it would be fun to scare the daylights out of them by bursting through the door like a hurricane. The winds she summoned around herself made papers blow around the room as she strode to the front of the classroom.

The children quaked with fear, probably more out of surprise than anything else. Aria wondered whether professors here usually displayed their true power for their students. She was going to regardless. She felt that was the quickest way to earn their respect. They might still underestimate her, but they wouldn't become as rowdy as they did for some of the other professors.

"Today, class, we are going to study, what?"

Only one hand shot up. It was the same one every time.

"Mr. Hedgewick?"

"Nifflers?" He asked confidently. His book was already open to the correct page. As he answered several of the students around him began quickly flipping through their books.

"Correct. I want a two page essay on their habits and habitats on my desk by start of class tomorrow. Anyone who doesn't hand one in will be restricted from our defensive wandwork lesson tomorrow." Aria instructed, casually sitting down behind her desk. "You may begin."

For a while everything was quiet. She watched as the students pulled parchment and quill and ink from their bags and set to work. Some whispered quietly together while others shielded their papers with their arms so that no one could copy whatever it is they were writing. Or maybe so they could get away with writing something else.

Then, just like that, the screaming began. The students in her class froze. Aria frowned and stood up from her desk. "Get back to work!" She snapped at them, even as she made her way to the door to peek out into the hallway. Three students had stopped in the middle of the hall, throwing up the color of inchworms.

Aria gasped, pressing her hand to her mouth. It couldn't be...then she saw the chocolates lying on the floor next to them.


End file.
